The Old Appin Inn

If you have an eye for history or architecture or hotels, and you’ve visited the town of Appin (near Campbelltown in Western Sydney), you will have probably noticed an old derelict building not far from the church. Though in a poor state of repair, the old Appin Inn is a lovely building which I had an opportunity to visit about five years ago when Appin celebrated its bi-centenary.

“I have a connection to the pub across the road” I told the woman who was looking after things at St Bede’s Catholic Church in Appin today. “Two of my ancestors ran the pub back in the 1840s”, I told her, referring to William Rixon and Ann Hoare. “There was a close connection between the church and the pub” she told me, pointing to the family, the Carolls who owned the pub and who ran it as a guest and boarding house, who were buried in the graveyard. “The sisters also used to have rooms there”, she added.

Walker Corporation has announced its plans to restore the Old Appin Inn to its original state with work to begin in three months. The developer has committed to upgrading the historic icon regardless of whether its planning proposal for Macquariedale Road is approved. The estimated cost of the restoration is $1.2 million.

Living locally, fellow “Rixonites”, Margaret and Kevin Rixon went along to the announcement on Thursday, and with their permission, here’s some photographs Kevin took.

The Old Appin Inn. Pic : Kevin Rixon

The Old Appin Inn. Pic : Kevin Rixon

The Old Appin Inn. Pic : Kevin Rixon

The Old Appin Inn. Pic : Kevin Rixon

The Old Appin Inn. Pic : Kevin Rixon

The Old Appin Inn. Pic : Kevin Rixon

The Old Appin Inn. Pic : Kevin Rixon

The Old Appin Inn. Pic : Kevin Rixon

The Old Appin Inn. Pic : Kevin Rixon

I’ll be seeing Margaret and Kevin tomorrow at another Rixon-related activity.

Tomorrow I’m heading off to Windsor to see a plaque unveiled at the grave James Rixon, one of my earliest ancestors to have arrived in Australia. James was a convict who was sentenced to be hanged, but who was transported instead, arriving in 1798. For 205 years, he has been buried in an unmarked grave at St Matthew’s Church of England at Windsor which, incidentally, is the oldest church in Australia, though the cemetery pre-dates construction of the current church. Thanks to the efforts of some keen genealogists, he’ll be getting a plaque on the grave. I’ll write about that tomorrow.

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3 thoughts on “The Old Appin Inn”

thankyou so much for this blog, I have a distant connection to the Rixon family and also a connection to the Old Appin Inn. my distant cousin Emily Organ married James Rixon 1832-1892 son of Benjamin Rixon and Margaret Finnamore – and on St Patricks Day 1835, my gr x 3 grandfather Bryan McNamara was involved in an altercation at the Inn which resulted in the death of a man – read a recent paranormal sites information where they have McNamara’s ghost haunting the Inn, he certainly didn’t die there and faced murder charges as a result – great to see photos of the inn thankyou

Thank you for sharing the photos of the old Inn in it’s dilapidated state.
I’ve been researching my 5 x great grand mother Sarah [ Best ] who married William Sykes, who was the first proprietor of the Appin Inn 1827 – 1833.
It’s incredible to see a building where your forebears brought up their family.
Who chose the colours of the windows ? Who planted the palm trees ? Endless questions.
Just wonderful to hear that it is being restored.
I know where we’re we are going to visit in the next school holidays.
Cheers.